This was an intro. to climbing course for my wife and me shortly after we moved to Portland from NYC. Guided 2 night trip to summit with some basic schooling. Enough to get us hooked and started. The weather delivered - NICE. The guides were cool - the clients were a mix. Red banks were cool; summit was nice if a bit windy (loads of people on it).

We decided to go in early may to hopefully beat some of the summer crowds and get some good snow/winter like climbing - We did beat the crowds - only about 8 tents maybe at Helen lake - definitely go before the long weekend. We drove up Thursday, and Thursday afternoon we set out from Bunny flats and climbed to around 8000 ft and set up camp on the right side of lower avalanche gulch. Friday we started about 8 am and got to Helen lake around early-mid afternoon. Snowshoes were handy as we started punching through after 9-10 AM. We were in bed by 6 and rose around 2 am to start the summit push. Slight headache, but popping a couple advil did the trick. The moon was out full and no clouds so with the white snow, everything glowed so much we didn't need headlamps! Styrofoam snow conditions making the walk up on cramps very enjoyable. We cut through the red banks, and onto Misery hill at which point the wind started to really get moving and just below the summit ridge we decided to retreat as the winds were now 60 mph + . We literally had to dig in with cramps and axe while laying on the ground to stay in one place and you had to be less than an inch away from someone to hear them. So close, but it turned to be a good decision as the lenticular cloud that was starting to form grew and engulfed the rest of the mountain by noon. We felt strong, and happy knowing that it was weather that had turned us back and not conditioning.

We did a 2-day summit attempt, camping just under Helen Lake on Saturday night and Summit attempt on Sunday. The weather both days were just the best they could be, warm during the day, clear skies, and crisp nights, with little wind.

Alpine start on Sunday morning at 3:30a and eventually getting moving closer to 5a :) We reached Helen Lake and saw most of the folks either still sleeping or just getting up, there was also a large crowd working their way toward the Heart to climb towards Red Banks.

I was still weak from AMS that I got the day before and working slow for the next couple of hours towards Red Banks. Near the top, however, I got off the usual "stairs" beaten into the snow by the groups and started sprinting zig-zag style with crampons and ice axe up to Red Banks, trying to avoid the roped groups going slowly up the stairs.

Once at Red Banks, however, a combination of already battling against AMS and feeling the accomplishment of getting this far while feeling really crappy, along with clouds moving in quickly froma distance, we decided to end the summit attempt. Misery hill was remaining along with the summit plateau snowfield and then the actual summit, about 800' in all --- oh well, another day!

The descent was awesome --- by now, it was perfect glissade weather with sunny skies at lower elevations, softer snow, and thousands of feet of twists, turns, and great speed sliding down the volcano on our butts.

Next time, more time will be taken to get acclimitized to enjoy this beautiful place. This is one great mountain/volcano to play on and we'll be coming back for more and more, especially if you avoid the crowds on the popular weekends.

My first mountain. Rented crampons & ice axe, no training, no experience, no smarts. Ever try glissading with crampons on? Got classic AMS, but camped on the summit anyway. Survived, got smarter, and now enjoy myself much more. But, a great mountain to get started on!

Went up solo during the week in early September. No crowds and had most of Helen Lake to myself. Sunny weather all day with really strong wind gusts on the summit. Lots of debris falling off the Red Banks with golf ball sized rocks whizzing past me every 5-10 minutes. Climbed up and through a small notch in the center of the Red Banks. Snow was firm early in the morning and was softening up pretty good by late morning. Made the summit by 8:30am and had awesome views in every direction.

I've been fairly lucky with good weather on this mountain, & had my share of bad weather too. Ha! My most rewarding climb thus far has been Casaval Ridge! the views from the top are terrific. I really enjoy the whole experience of climbing Shasta, from cruizing around, eating, buying any last minute supplies, & finding a cheap hotel in the town of Shasta to grunting it up the mountain!

My second time atop Shasta (first time was in 9/93). This time the winds were calm and the weather beautiful. No complaints (other than some dehydration on the way down). When on the mountain in '93, we got a serious taste of those famous Shasta windstorms.

After reading Hammer's description (below) I thought I would put in my two cents worth. I can not over state how strong the wind was, the air temp had to be no more than 20 and with the wind chill, God only knows how cold it was. The nalgene bottles inside my pack were frozen solid. I was ahead of Hammer through the Red Banks, up to the base of Misery Hill. Not knowing the route and being more than a little confused at the time, I waited for him there. We found a little shelter just after reaching the summit plateau and rested there. I could only sit for a few minutes, because I needed to keep moving. It would have been easy to just sit there and die. Crossing the summit plateau there were many piles of frozen vomit, from the climbers before us. It was really strange. Looking out from my glacier glasses, from under all that clothing (I was wearing all of the cloths I brought) it was as if I was watching the whole thing on TV. I was in a kind of dream state I just kept thinking "One foot in front of the other." When we crossed the plateau the wind was blowing so hard that I thought the summit may be unsafe. It is actually fairly protected. But it was still cold. We signed the summit register and bailed.

After failing our attempt in September last year, we decided to take an extra day climbing and do it earlier in the season. My uncle and I decided to go earlier and just spend time on the mountain. I was feeling really strong after doing Mt. Hood the past two weekends and was looking forward in summiting this mountain.

After our long drive down from Salem, we started from Bunny flats in the early afternoon. Our plan was to go up to around 9000' and stay there a night and wait for our friends to join us the following night. After we got to Horse camp we changed our minds and stayed the first night there so we could check out the Sierra Club Cabin in detail.

The next morning I decided I didn't want to carry my heavy pack so I split the contents in two and took the first half up to where we found a decent place to camp at about 8500'. We set up the tent and dug a snow kitchen and headed back down to Horse Camp. We waited there and watched the people as they came up for day hikes and others on there way up to Helen Lake. Our friends were coming in two pairs and after an hour or so they came into camp. We picked up the rest of our things and moved to our camp.

The next morning we were up and out of camp in a hurry. We wanted to get to Helen Lake as soon as possible so we could beat the rush of people on the weekend. By the time we got there it was already too late. What a mad house! so many tents it is what I would expect of an Everest Base Camp. After searching out an area where to set up tents we ended up waiting for summiters to break down their sites. We bagan the chore of melting/boiling water for our summit bid that night. After a few hours of bullshitting we headed to our tents to sleep. Our plan was to leave at 0300.

I was sound asleep and then the wind came-not a little but a lot. After some time my alarm went off and I got out of the tent. It was blowing so hard. I knew that our attempt had been thwarted once again. I went around to everyones tent and help reguy them out since they were getting pounded. I decided to give it an hour and reassess then. After an hour the wind had stopped-or so we thought. After a little breakfast we were moving. God I felt strong, and set a pretty hard pace. Next thing I knew I was several minutes ahead of everyone else. I waitied for them to catch up and then the wind started with new fury. We slowly moved up getting pelted with wind blown snow as we went. I had slowed my pace down but was still leaving a couple people behind. It was too windy and cold to stay put for too much time. At the top of the Heart we found some rocks to shelter us and wait for everyone to regroup. Even with the shelter we started getting cold as the wind continued to increase. I waited as long as possible but after everyone that had been waiting had moved on I abandoned my uncle. He was moving so slow that I knew that he would not summit and would probably turning around soon. The sun was coming up and I knew that he was plenty capable of getting himself down. When he turned around, the masses behind us began to do the same. The wind was just too much. Earlier in the day I had decided that I would crawl to the top if I had to but I was not getting turned around again.

The distance between myself and the rest of our group was large and they were moving toward the base of Thumb Rock where the boot track lead. I decided to make up some time and head through one of the Chimneys in the Red Banks. It worked and as one of my friends had traversed over to join me we made up time on the others and actually were at the Plateau at the base of Misery Hill before them. The wind had continued to pick up. The masses of people were not moving up anymore. The little that had came up above the Heart had turned around at the top of the Red Banks. At the base of Misery Hill all of the rest of my friends decided to go back down. The wind had freaked them out a little and they were tired. One of my friends, the one that had been turned around with me the year before, continued on with me. He had the same determination that I had and we were not turning around for nothing. I now know why they call it Misery Hill. I thought it would never end!

As we crested Misery Hill and approached the base of the summit pinnacle, my buddy told me that he was going to tag the summit and come down. No pictures, No summit register, no nothing! The wind was blowing so hard I thought my face was going to fall off. I have never been so cold in my life. We could barely walk upright and when a gust came it would knock you nearly over. As we nearly gained the Summit, my buddy said " this is good enough" and then we saw some other people huddled a few yards away. I talked him into making the true summit. As we moved past the people hiding from the wind we gained the Summit which afforded a little protection from the wind. We took our pictures, unrolled the celebratory Tibetan prayer flags and signed the summit register.

We tried to radio down to everyone but couldn't get through. We only spent a few minutes on top. I was starting to feel pretty shitty with no energy. I hadn't ate anything all day and our water was frozen solid.

As we approached Red Banks we finally radio'd everyone that we had actually summited and were on our way down. Tried to glissade but everything was too frozen and the speed was too much to deal with. Had to walk almost the whole way out. Did get a little glissading in.

Got back to Helen Lake and most everyone was already gone. Tents around us had been thrashed by the wind including the Ranger's. The Ranger had said that the wind had been 80-100 MPH. Incredible- I don't know what that would have put the wind chill factor at but I was cold that day. By now however, the wind was gone and it was getting hot. We broke camp and hiked the long way out. Almost an Epic at least for me.

My 1st 14er and it was a great time. We had planned going up Casaval Ridge but due to a lean snow year, we opted for the standard route. A great climb nonetheless and look forward to going back in the future.

This was an excellent trip late in the season. Due to the low snow pack this year, the Mount Shasta Climbing Route Advisory was already telling people to come back next year, however, the climbing was still very nice. On Saturday afternoon I headed up to Lake Helen and slept in my 20°F bag and bivy (way too warm for the bivy). The next morning Carl, Van, and I started heading up to the Red Banks via the standard Climber's Right of Heart variation with the route going directly up into one of the chimneys. We reached the summit around 12:30pm where we were met by two rangers who were doing their best to scare everyone off the summit. As it turned out, there were lightning storms in local towns and the static was disrupting their cell phone reception. On the way down we avoided the chimneys by heading over to the Thumb Rock saddle, slipping through "the notch," and then slide-stepping down the eternal scree field. I even glissaded a bit at the bottom though the snow is now fairly dirty and not as fun. Although the low pressure system off the coast of Oregon had pushed the jetstream over Shasta for the weekend, we were lucky in that it only snowed for a bit during the morning and the rain stayed to the northeast of the mountain, leaving our route down clear and sunny. Overall this is a mountain with lots of character and amazing views.

With such a beautiful sunny day I decided to sleep a little longer. I Started at 7:35am from the ski bowl parking lot, stop four times for video shot of the scene, and of people who didn't seem to be enjoying themselves. Made it to the summit in 4.5hrs. I hang out, saw a 7 year old girl on top. Shot some more video and left at 12:30. I arrived in the ski bowl parking lot at 2:35. Met lots of good people and lots of fun glissading!

I did this climb solo (my first ever) from Bunny Flat to the summit in 7 hours. The conditions were good - very little wind on the mountain. I left Bunny Flat at 2:30am and made Lake Helen at 4:30am. The snowline started just above the camp at 10,400 ft. By 5am I was working my way up the rockfall littered snowfield toward the Red Banks. There were 2 other groups climbing ahead of me. I wanted to make sure I got through the rockfall area early in the morning. I took the right of the Heart route. Below the Red Banks I decided to go the most direct route up the first (far left) chimney. It looked easier than it was...the top of the chimney got very steep and icy. Not a good place to fall. Later when I was descending I talked to a climber who was resting as his buddy climbed the same route...without wearing crampons!! That is nuts. I made the base Misery Hill after getting out of the chimney (it was full of rocks at the top). My legs were feeling fried from the non-stop climb so I rested. I continued on to the summit at what seemed like a snail's pace - walking 25 steps then resting. There was no need for crampons after the chimney. At 9:30am I made the summit where 5 other climbers were resting in the warm sun. The weather and views were fantastic! I descended via the notch by Thumb Rock as recommended by the climbing ranger (far left side of Red Banks) and walked carefully down the steep red rock to the snowfield. After making a slow descent (my feet were giving me some problems) and not glissading (rocks in the chute) I made it back to the car at 4:30pm. All in all a great climb and my first solo expedition. Final thoughts... going solo is tougher mentally than I thought (something about walking in pitch blackness with a headlamp on for hours with not a soul in sight)...but once I made it to Lake Helen I knew I would reach the summit.

Joel Ward, his brother Dan and I climbed via Avalanche Gulch on July 6 & 7, 1999. We arrived at the Bunny Flat Trail headaround 10:00 a.m. After the usual registartion paperwork was finished and we picked up our potty bags, we were finally on our way. The stroll through the woods to Horse Camp was very pleasant, although a bit dusty as it is a well used trail. We talked to several day hikers along the way. After partaking of the fresh spring water and taking a few pictures at Horse camp, we continued on our way. There was no snow along the trail, although the loose rock and scree made for some slippery spots, until we reached 50/50 flat. It has been a continual uphill trudge so far. Here the trudge was now through soft afternoon snow to reach camp at Helen Lake. The views were fabulous and we drank in the beauty that was all around. After setting up camp we visited with several of the other climbers who were there. I didnit bring my water filter/pump, thinking that we would just melt snow. There was a nice little snow melt stream and a couple of other climbers who brought pumps and let us use them. Thanks!! The sunset was spectacular. Several people went over to Casaval Ridge to watch it. After a restless night, excitement over the the next day, we were up at 5, had a hot breakfast and started out at 6 am. Hind sight tells me we should have started out sooner. We headed up Avalanche Gulch (which is much steeper than it appears), went to the right of the Heart and up through the Red Banks. We kept up a steady pace. Near the base of the Red Banks, we met a group that had left much sooner that us but was having some difficulty. They would race up and then stop to catch their breath. Unfortunately at this altitude that technique doesn’t work well. Dan talked to them about pacing your breathing with your walking. We also met a family on their way down who said they had been “blown off Misery Hill.” They were right. At Misery Hill the winds became pretty strong, but not so much as to hold us back. We stayed right along a line of rocks to the right edge of the hill and that seemed to block the wind a bit. As we reached the summit plateau it seemed as if the ‘fan” had suddenly been turned off. The summit plateau is a big ice field. When we reached the far side and were ready to start up the final climb we could smell the sulfer fron the hot springs here. We finally summited at 1pm. The view was awesome. The number of people at the summit was also quite a surprise. After the usual pictures and visiting we headed back down. As we headed back across the summit plateau we met again the group we had passed at the Red banks. They were doing much better and looked like they were going to make it. We did not follow the same route back down Misery Hill. Instead we circled around near the head of Konwakiton Glacier to the Red Banks The glissade from here was very exhilarating, although the snow was getting a little mushy as we neared camp. We packed up and headed down the hill. I had knocked my water bottle over after we had everything packed and the climbers with the pumps were gone. I was pretty dehydrated by the time we arrived at Horse Camp. I must have downed 64 oz of that cold spring water in no time. Once rehydrated, the rest of the trip was quite pleasant. What an awesome trip.